Quote:
Originally Posted by GTripp0012
Namath gets a bad rap, but he's was actually a much better quarterback than a lot of people give him credit for.
The problem is, Namath supporters speak of him like he was better than Tarkenton, better than Starr, better than Staubach, better than Len Dawson, and he simply wasn't in that class.
But in terms of hall of fame standards, Namath takes a really big hit for his quarterback rating being roughly league average for the era instead of in line with the best statistical quarterbacks of all time. Truth is, Namath was a guy who was a standard deviation above the mean in net yards per attempt, which is a hall of fame type inclusive statistic. He fell closer to Cutler on the Cutler-McNabb sack-interception continuum (that I created just now), but that's not a bad or a good thing inherently. It just is. Namath was very deserving of his HoF nod, even if he got it for all the wrong reasons.
Bradshaw, on the other hand, is a slightly above average player who is there primarily for team-related accomplishments. The 70's Steelers really don't have a single offensive player who was a hall of famer in the truest sense. Franco Harris was probably the best player on that unit, and he was a pro bowler each of his first 9 seasons, so that's probably the best argument for a HoFer from that offense, but they did win four rings, so a whole bunch of people associated with them were getting in. Ken Stabler and Ken Anderson only wish they were so lucky.
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Great post GTripp. Guys it is impossible to compare QB's / wr's of todays game with those who played in the 70's .
1972 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards | Pro-Football-Reference.com ,to pass for 20 td's in a season from 70-77 would put you at the top , as you can see in 72 B. Kilmer lead the NFL with 19 td's . As far as Bradshaw , nobody was going to complete 60% / better in the offense they ran , throwing 15-20 yds downfield to the WR's , The TE for the Steelers avg'd 11 recp's per/yr . Bradshaw was at the top in td passes and yds / attempt
1978 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards | Pro-Football-Reference.com ...
1978 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards | Pro-Football-Reference.com averaging over 14yds / Attempt . Not saying he was as good as Montana / Marino and some other HOF , but considering his two starting WR's were hurt most of the time , he did ok . You cannot win 4 SB's with a garbage qb , maybe one ... but not 4 .